Honedge debuts in Pokémon GO during the Steel and Scales event. Likewise, its evolutions Doublade and Aegislash will debut in Pokémon during the same event. The Steel and Scales event starts on Tuesday, July 22, at 10:00 a.m. local time. It will continue until Sunday, July 27, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time.
Honedge (and its evolutions) is a Steel- and Ghost-type Pokémon first discovered in the Kalos region. Its maximum Combat Power (CP) stat is 1571 CP (i.e., level 50). Its best moveset in Pokémon GO is Fury Cutter as a Fast Attack and Iron Head as a Charged Attack. As a steel- and ghost-type Pokémon, its encounters are boosted during Snow and Fod weather conditions in-game. Honedge encountered in Research has a maximum of 595 CP. If you encounter this, it is a perfect Pokémon. In addition, if encountered as a Raid reward, the maximum CP is 794 CP during a non-weather boosted condition. The maximum CP is 993 CP during a weather-boosted condition. Both 794 CP and 993 CP are hundos.
You will need 25 Honedge Candy to evolve Honedge into Doublade. You will also need 100 Honedge Candy to evolve Doublade into Aegislash. That means you need 125 for each full evolution. You can grind Candy (and Candy XL) during the Steel and Scales event by using a mega-level 3 mega Pokémon of the same type as Honedge throughout the event. Examples of mega Pokémon to mega evolve are Mega Steelix, Mega Scizor, Mega Mawile, Mega Aggron, or Mega Lucario.
Honedge Debuts Event Bonuses
Trainers participating in the event will have access to the following event-themed bonuses.
- 4× XP for catching Pokémon.
- 4× Stardust for catching Pokémon.
- Increased chance to encounter Shiny Bagon and Shiny Beldum.
- Increased chance to encounter Shiny Unown U in raids.
Wild Encounters
The following Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild. Also, for the first time in Pokémon GO, you’ll be able to encounter Shiny Rookidee—if you’re lucky!
- Magnemite
- Dratini
- Aron
- Bagon
- Beldum
- Ferroseed
- Noibat
- Rookidee
Some Trainers might even encounter the following!
- Axew
- Goomy
Raids
The following Pokémon will appear in their respective raid tiers.
- One-Star Raids: Unown U, Gible, Klink, Deino, and Honedge
- Three-Star Raids: Skarmory, Bisharp, Dragalge, and Turtonator
GO Battle League Update During the Steel and Scales Event
During the event, Honedge will appear in both GO Battle League reward tracks starting at Rank 6. However, Honedge will appear more frequently in the premium track. After the event, Honedge will appear in both GO Battle League reward tracks starting at Rank 16. It will appear more frequently in the premium track.
Furthermore, to make the event more engaging, there will be event-themed Field Research Tasks and Rewards. Complete these tasks to earn XP, Stardust, and encounters with event-themed Pokémon. There will also be Collection Challenges. Complete Collection Challenges to receive XP, Stardust, and encounters with event-themed Pokémon.
